Product Reviews

The first four games from TableStar are unique in the fact that they
all have the same basic "HeroCard" engine - a card dueling game that
becomes the backbone for four very different board games. This is an
intriguing idea, and I was very pleased to see the good quality of
components from this new company - especially the themes of each game.
I've played three of the games: Rise of the Shogun (samurai),
Champion of New Olympia (superheroes), and HeroCard: Galaxy (TableStar
Games, 2006 - Nico Carroll). The thing that drew me to Galaxy was not
only the theme (I do love space games), but also the stunning artwork
- artwork that certainly evokes the theme of a galactic, cosmic struggle.

HeroCard Galaxy is an average game, mixing a very neat HeroCard
dueling system with a galaxy control board game. Players are
attempting to capture enough planets to win the game, winning them
from other players, fighting battles to do so. A few clever
variations on the HeroCard theme, such as allowing upgrades to decks,
make this game stand out - and I enjoyed playing it, although not as
much as Rise of the Shogun. Gameplay is a little longer than I would
like, and the rules are slightly obtuse; but those looking for an
interesting space combat game might enjoy it.

Before I talk about the game, let me explain the HeroCard engine.
Each player takes a deck of cards to represent their Space Commander
hero. Interestingly, players can use decks from the other games
(i.e. I can use a Shogun deck in the Galaxy game); and other than some
theme clashing, they work fairly well. Three Attribute cards are
included with each deck to represent the player's Body, Mind, and
Attribute "X". These cards have a number on them that ranges from "3"
to "10", showing the character's strength in those skills. The rest
of the cards in a deck are "Action" cards and are associated with one
of the three types of skills. Cards are Fast (play whenever you
want); Restricted (play on your own turn); and Exclusive (play on your
turn - limit of one.) Players arrange their attribute cards on the
table.

In a duel, a player has four phases. They first discard as many
cards as they want to from their hand, then draw up to three more -
not exceeding seven. After this, players "clear" up to three cards
that they've played on the table, placing them in their discard pile.
At this point, the player takes their one exclusive action and as
many restricted actions as they can.

Most exclusive actions are attacks. The player must play one "Base"
attack card and as many attack modifiers as they wish. However, each
card played has a cost in one of the three attribute types. As a
player plays a card, they place it on the table, where it stays until
cleared. The total cost of all cards on the table cannot exceed the
number of the attribute. Therefore, players who play many cards have
fewer options available to them on turns. The player being attacked
then may play one "Base" block and as many Block modifiers as they
have room for, still making sure they stay within their attribute
limits. Both players may continue to add modifiers until they have no
more or decide to play no more. If the attacker's total is higher,
then they "hit" the opponent; otherwise, play passes to the next player.

Now, to combine this with the main game: Each player selects a Hero
pawn and takes the corresponding action deck, setting them up in front
of them. A game board is placed on the table next to two decks of
cards - Discovery and Technology. The top three Discovery cards are
placed face up, revealing planets, in three numbered "Discovery Queue"
spaces, and one player is chosen to go first.

On a player's turn, they first discard, draw, and clear cards in the
same manner as a duel. They then take one Exclusive action, as many
restricted actions as they want, and move once.
- Move: A player may move from any of the four discovery spaces on
the board to any planet that a player has in their "Control Row", etc.
There are some restrictions on how far a player may move, depending
on their initial location.
- Discover (Restricted): If a player's hero is on an empty discovery
space, they may place the first planet in the Discovery queue into
that place, drawing another planet, and moving them accordingly.
- Claim (Exclusive): A player may claim a planet if they begin their
action phase alone on that planet. The player takes the planet and
places it in their "Control Row", along with the hero.
- Garrison (Restricted): A player may place cards from their hand
under one of their planets that their hero occupies. Any cards may be
placed face down here, but only "Fast" actions will actually be able
to be used.
- Attack (Exclusive): A player may attempt to capture an opponent's
planet by attacking it. This is done by fighting a duel - attempting
to expel the opponent's hero from the planet. If a player does not
have their hero on a planet that is attacked, they may use cards from
their garrison (if any) to defend. Captured planets are placed in the
attacker's Control Row.
- Technology (Exclusive): A player may draw four technology cards,
keeping two and placing the other two at the bottom of the deck.
Technology cards are either action cards that can be used and then
kept in a player's action deck to customize it a bit, or are garrison
cards used to defend a planet.

When a player has finished their action phase, the next player takes
their turn. The game continues until one player
- Controls all four planets of one color
- Controls one planet of each of the five colors
- Or controls three planets of one color and two of another.
The first player to this is the winner!

Some comments on the game…

1.) Components: As I mentioned in my intro, I really enjoyed the
space artwork all over the box, board, and cards. From the very
evocative planet cards to the flashy cards of the EGG alien,
everything has a wondrous and alien feel to it, making you really
believe you're playing a space game. The hero tokens are hard,
durable plastic; and the board, while not exactly necessary, is useful
for tying all the cards on the table together. Everything fits easily
in the smallish, sturdy box.

2.) Rules: The twenty-six page rulebook is split into three sections:
a Quick start section, the rules for the actual board game, and a
section that simply goes over the Duel rules. There are several
examples and full color illustrations; but while I found the game
fairly easy to understand, the rulebook was slightly obtuse when
explaining how to play the game. Even with the reference cards and
sheets, not everything was as clear as it could be. The use of the
terms "restricted" and "exclusive" is not very intuitive and, perhaps,
could have been better used in the sense of the game. When teaching
the game, I find it easiest to simply play a duel with new players
first - just so they understand that - then move onto the board game.
Duels are very easy, and the game is just a step up above that - easy
for teenagers and adults alike - although a good teacher is necessary.

3.) Duels: Since the duels are an integral part of the game, they
better be good; and I'm happy to report that they are quite fun. If a
player overextends themselves on an attack, they will have little
leeway to defend against an attack; so one must be careful. You can
clear three cards each turn, which is a great number, because it's
useful; but a player isn't always able to get rid of the cards they
want to. The decks seem to be extremely well balanced; although I
haven't tried the space and hero decks in the game, it would be too
big of a breach of theme for me. Two decks are included with the game
- the Cosmic Cult and the Mechagen, while the EGG and the Crab races
are added in expansion packs. The decks are different numerically but
aren't too far apart in gameplay - at least until technology shows up.

4.) Technology: For me, one of the most interesting features of the
game was the technology deck. A player could add some potentially
cheap, powerful cards to their action deck, allowing them to take more
fast and restricted actions. At the same time, a player who simply
concentrates on technology each turn will be sadly defeated by other
players who focus on expansion and conquering. A balance must be
struck, but the technological option allows players some neat
customization of their decks.

5.) Strategy: The many options a player has on a turn are
interesting, and they must decide whether to seek out new planets,
claim some already discovered, research technology, or attack the
other players. All of this is good and works together well. The only
problem that I could see with this is that all of this seems to take a
long time to accomplish. Since a player can really only do one major
action a turn, they must wait until the other players go until they
follow up on that. Moving in for an attack is something everyone can
see, and the speed of space really isn't represented in the game.

6.) Time and Players: Galaxy seems to be best as a three-player game,
as the two player game is a little dull, and the four-player game is a
little too chaotic. Gameplay can take over an hour, depending on how
much combat is in the game, and the whole thing can drag out just a
little longer than its welcome - I could tell that some of the players
in the games I've played got a little fidgety.

7.) Fun Factor: The game certainly does feel like a space game but,
perhaps, isn't injected with enough theme to be a favorite of those
looking for a space epic. The mechanics are interesting, but it
almost feels sometimes like two different games are included in the
box, the duels and a rummy-like planet collection. I found the game
enjoyable but was in the minority when I played the game - mostly
because of its length. People would have enjoyed the game had it been
shorter and slightly easier to grasp.

TableStar Games has really done a unique thing here, making their
games compatible with one another, yet giving each a distinct, unique
feel. While Galaxy isn't the best game of the series - that would be
Rise of the Shogun - it does a decent job of bringing a space theme to
the gaming table. Granted, much of that is dependant on the artwork
and the clever dueling combat, while the length of the game and the
slight mishmash of mechanics may bog it down for some. HeroCard:
Galaxy certainly is a "try-before-you-buy" game, as it's difficult to
truly understand what's going on until you play it.

Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"

Other Resources for HeroCard: Galaxy:

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